Evolution Site - Teaching About Evolution
Despite the best efforts of biology educators, misinformation about evolution persist. People who have taken in popular science myths often assume that biologists are saying they don't believe in evolution.
This rich Web site, which is a companion to the PBS program that provides teachers with resources that promote evolution education, while avoiding the kinds of misconceptions that hinder it. It's laid out in a nested "bread crumb" format to facilitate navigation and orientation.
Definitions
Evolution is a complicated and challenging subject to teach well. It is often misunderstood even by non-scientists, and even scientists have been guilty of using an interpretation that is confusing the issue. This is particularly true when it comes to discussions about the meaning of the word itself.
It is therefore important to define the terms that are used in evolutionary biology. The website for the PBS show, Understanding Evolution, does this in a simple and efficient manner. The site is both a companion for the 2001 series, but also a resource on its own. The material is presented in a nested manner that assists in navigation and orientation.
The site defines terms like common ancestor, the gradual process, and adaptation. These terms help to define the nature and significance of evolution to other scientific concepts. The website provides a summary of the way that evolution has been examined. This information will help to dispel the myths that are created by the creationists.
You can also access a glossary that includes terms used in evolutionary biology. These terms include:
Adaptation is the process of changing heritable traits to become better suited to an environment. This is the result of natural selection. Organisms that have better-adapted characteristics are more likely than those with less adaptable traits to reproduce and survive.
Common ancestor (also known as common ancestor) The most recent ancestor that is shared by two or more species. The common ancestor can be identified by analyzing the DNA of those species.
Deoxyribonucleic Acid: A large biological molecular that holds the necessary information for cell replication. The information is stored in nucleotide sequences which are strung into long chains known as chromosomes. Mutations are the reason behind the creation of new genetic information inside cells.
Coevolution is a relation between two species where evolutionary changes of one species are influenced by evolutionary changes of the other. Coevolution can be observed in the interactions between predator and prey, or parasite and hosts.
Origins
Species (groups which can interbreed), evolve by a series of natural variations in the traits of their offspring. These changes are caused by a variety of factors, including natural selection, genetic drift and mixing of gene pools. The evolution of a new species may take thousands of years, and the process could be slowed or increased by environmental conditions such as climate change or competition for food or habitat.
The Evolution site tracks the evolution of a variety of groups of animals and plants over time, focusing on the major shifts that occurred throughout the history of each group. 무료 에볼루션 explores human evolution, which is a topic of particular importance for students.
Darwin's Origin was written in 1859, when just a few antediluvian fossils of human beings had been discovered. The most famous among them was the skullcap and associated bones found in 1856 in the Little Feldhofer Grotto in Germany that is now thought to be an early Homo neanderthalensis. While the skullcap wasn't published until 1858, a year before the first edition of the Origin was published, it's very unlikely that Darwin had heard or seen of it.
The site is primarily one of biology however it also includes a lot of information on geology and paleontology. The website has numerous features that are especially impressive, including the timeline of how geological and climate conditions have changed over time. It also includes maps that show the locations of fossil groups.
The site is a companion for a PBS television series, but it can also be used as a resource by teachers and students. The site is well-organized and offers easy links to the introductory material of Understanding Evolution (developed under the National Science Foundation's assistance) as well as the more specialized features on the museum's website. These links make it easier to move from the cartoon-style Understanding Evolution pages into the more sophisticated worlds of research science. In particular there are links to John Endler's research with Guppies, which demonstrate the importance of ecology in evolutionary theory.
Diversity
The evolution of life has led to many species of plants, animals and insects. Paleobiology is the study of these creatures in their geographical context and offers many advantages over modern observational and experimental methods for analyzing evolutionary phenomena. Paleobiology can examine not only processes and events that happen regularly or over time, but also the relative abundance and distribution of various animal groups across the geological time.
The Web site is divided into a variety of pathways to understanding evolution, including "Evolution 101," which takes the user on a linear path through the nature of science and the evidence to support the theory of evolution. The course also focuses on misconceptions about evolution, as well as the history of evolutionary thinking.
Each of the other main sections of the Evolution site is similarly created, with resources that can support a variety of educational levels and pedagogical styles. In addition to the general textual content, the site offers an extensive selection of multimedia and interactive content, such as videos, animations, and virtual labs. The content is presented in a nested bread crumb style that facilitates navigation and orientation within the vast web site.
The page "Coral Reef Connections" For instance, it gives a brief overview of coral relationships, their interaction with other organisms and then zooms in on a single clam, which can communicate with its neighbors and respond to changes in the water conditions that occur on the reef level. This page, along with the other multidisciplinary interactive and multimedia pages, gives a good introduction to a variety of topics in evolutionary biology. The material also provides an overview of the importance of natural selection as well as the concept of phylogenetic analysis which is a crucial tool in understanding evolutionary change.
Evolutionary Theory
Evolution is a common thread that is found throughout all branches of biology. A rich collection supports teaching evolution across all disciplines of life sciences.
One resource, which is the companion to PBS's television show Understanding Evolution is an excellent example of a Web page that provides the depth and the breadth in terms of its educational resources. The site has a variety of interactive learning modules. It also features a "bread crumb structure" that helps students move away from the cartoon style that is used in Understanding Evolution and onto elements on this site that are more closely connected to the realms of research science. For example an animation that introduces the concept of genetic inheritance links to a page that focuses on John Endler's experiments with artificial selection using guppies in the ponds of his native country of Trinidad.
Another resource that is worth mentioning is the Evolution Library on this Web website, which includes an extensive library of multimedia resources related to evolution. The content is organized according to curriculum-based paths that parallel the learning objectives set out in the standards for biology. It includes seven short videos specifically designed for use in classrooms, and can be streamed for no cost or purchased on DVD.
A variety of crucial questions remain at the core of evolutionary biology, including what triggers evolution and how fast it occurs. This is particularly true for the evolution of humans where it was a challenge to reconcile religious beliefs that humans have a distinct place in the creation and a soul with the notion that our physical traits evolved from Apes.
In addition there are a myriad of ways in which evolution could be triggered with natural selection being the most widely accepted theory. However, 무료 에볼루션 study other kinds of evolution, such as genetic drift, mutation, and sexual selection, among others.
While many fields of scientific study are in conflict with literal interpretations in religious texts, evolution biology has been a subject of intense controversy and opposition from religious fundamentalists. Some religions have reconciled their beliefs with evolution, while others haven't.